- Trip Outline
- Itinerary
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Galle City Tour, Fortress, Madu River Estuary and Southern Sri Lanka (private)
The Galle one-day tour is a very scenic tour that takes place all along the west coast beaches of Sri Lanka. In the Galle city tour, we will take you to one of the most beautiful parts of the island, southern Sri Lanka, where you get plenty of opportunities to enjoy the pristine palm-fringed beaches, picturesque countryside, one of the UNESCO world heritage sites/the Dutch Fort, endangered sea turtles, a mask museum and mangrove forests. All attractions are along the way, and all are exposed within a few hours.
Activity included in the Galle one-day tour
- A visit to the sea turtle conservation center and learning about endangered sea turtles from volunteers.
- Bost a tour at the Madu River estuary (Ramsar wetland) and see the valuable riverine fauna and flora.
- Tour of the mangrove lagoon.
- Visit Cinnamon Island and learn about cinnamon.
- Visit the ancient Buddhist temple.
- Galls bottom boat trip to see coral reefs, sea turtles and exotic fish species in the marine sanctuary.
- Visit Hikkaduwa Beach.
- Walking tour of Galle Fort (UNESCO world heritage site) and explore the best-preserved Dutch-built medieval fort in Asia. Walkthrough hundreds of medieval period mansions, churches, temples, galleries, and many more.
Is this trip right for you?
- This compact trip packs a lot in. It’s one of the shortest trips we run in our original style, perfect for those with very little time and a desire to do the most with it.
- The tour mainly revolves around tourist attractions on the southern and western coast beach areas. In fact, you will be stopping a few times to explore the different places on the beach.
- Sri Lanka can get extremely hot in the summer. While we aim to do our walking tours when the heat is low (in the morning and evening), remember to keep water on you and bring a hat, sunscreen, a long-sleeved shirt, and anything else that will protect you from the sun.
- Part of traveling with Seerendipity respects local cultures and sensibilities. That way, you get the most out of your interactions with local people and environments. We visit a number of temples on this trip, and to enter them, you must have clothes that cover your wrists and below the knee. Please check this article about how to dress before visiting a temple in Sri Lanka.
Trip includes
- Entrance fees and activity costs for below,
- Madu river estuary exploration boat tour
- Sea turtle conservation project
- Visiting Hikkaduwa Beach
- Trip to Mask Museum
- Guided walking tour of Galle Fort
- Moonstone mines
- Glass bottom boat trip of Hilkaduwa marine sanctuary
- Meeting arrangements at the airport on arrival and departure.
- Entire ground transportation as per the itinerary in a modern air-conditioned, private vehicle.
- English-speaking driver/guide (please inquire about other languages).
- All government taxes.
Trip excludes
- The expense of personal nature, such as gratuities.
- Meals and drinks.
Choose your payment method.
We offer you mainly three payment options: card payments, bank transfers, or payment on arrival. You can choose whatever is the most convenient payment option for you. If you choose to pay on arrival, we will collect a 25% advance payment as a guarantee once we confirm your booking.
Best price guaranteed
We guarantee the best price. If you find the same tour package at a cheaper price elsewhere, we do match the price of other tour packages and furthermore add a further 10% discount to it.
No hidden fees and commissions
The price you see on the product pages is the exact same rate that you see in the final stage of the trip booking. There are no hidden fees and taxes such as GST, BTT, service charge, nation-building tax, hotel tax, etc.
Additional information
- Confirmation will be received at the time of booking.
- Pickup and dropoff from more than 140+ hotels on the west coast.
- Luxury, modern, private vehicle for transport.
- Service of a well-experienced and knowledgeable tour guide.
Please don't hesitate to contact us for more information on this trip or for changes to the tour itinerary.
Itineraries
Time : 7:15 am
Colombo / Bentota / Hikkaduwa / Galle / Colombo
Pickup from your hotel in Colombo or on the west coast and leave for Galle, en-route visit,
Bentota
Bentota Beach is the most popular beach holiday destination on the island. The unique location of Bentota Beach Resort is one important reason for its popularity as a beach holiday destination. Bentota Resort is located on an island, and the island is connected with the mainland at its southern border. Bentota is mainly comprised of a narrow strip of land that spreads along the north-south axis. Bentota Beach Resort is surrounded by both sea and river. One side of the island is the Bentota River, while the western side of Bentota is flanked by the Indian Ocean. Large numbers of hotels are built on this narrow strip of land, enabling travelers to have a peaceful atmosphere during the holiday. You can book a hotel in Bentota through Serendipity Tours at a very affordable rate online.
Sea turtle conservation center
Projects have been launched to conserve the population of turtles that are reaching extinction, and such projects are found along the southern coast of Sri Lanka, where turtles come ashore to lay their eggs. The turtle digs a hole on the beach, lays her eggs and covers it with sand where it is supposed to, and incubates in the heat of the sun. What often happens is that the eggs are dug out by fishermen and sold to people who consume them.
But now the eggs are bought up by the conservation projects and are hatched the natural way in enclosed areas where the birds don’t have a chance of picking them up, and the babies are let into the sea after two days at night, which offers them a better chance of survival.
Spice garden
Visit a spice garden at Bentota where spices and herbs used for Sri Lankan cuisine and medication are grown. Spices of Sri Lanka attracted the early seafaring merchants who made the long voyages to purchase this precious merchandise.
Madu river safari
In the global context, the ecological importance of this site has garnered it the ‘Ramsar Wetland’ status in 2003, being the second largest wetland in Sri Lanka with a colossal 915 hectares and 23 islands inhabited by nearly 300 families. The River Sanctuary is now a Tourist Development Area and a Special Area Managed (SAM) by the Coast Conservation Department. Balapitiya is where the ‘Madu Ganga’ makes its home.
Mask Museum Ambalangoda
The Ambalangofda Mask Museum is designed to introduce the richness of the mask tradition of Ambalangoda and to strengthen this cultural heritage. The museum, the workshop and the small library (containing all available anthropological literature on mask performances) may serve as a center for traditional arts and crafts and for research as well.
City of Galle
Galle is one of the ancient seaports of Sri Lanka and was an anchor point in the Silk Route. It was later discovered by the Portuguese, where they built a fortress, and the Dutch that succeeded them fortified it further. This fortress is today a World Heritage Site.
Galle Fort
The fort has a colorful history and today has a multi-ethnic and multi-religious population. The Sri Lankan government and many Dutch people who still own some of the properties inside the fort are looking at making this one of the modern wonders of the world. The heritage value of the fort has been recognized by UNESCO, and the site has been inscribed as a cultural heritage UNESCO World Heritage Site under criteria iv for its unique exposition of "an urban ensemble that illustrates the interaction of European architecture and South Asian traditions from the 16th to the 19th centuries.
The Galle Fort, also known as the Dutch Fort or the "Ramparts of Galle," withstood the Boxing Day tsunami, which damaged part of the coastal area of Galle town. It has been since restored. The Galle Fort also houses the elite Amangalla resort hotel, located near the Dutch Reformed Church. It was originally built in 1684 to house the Dutch Governor and his staff. It was then converted into a hotel and named the New Oriental Hotel in 1865, which catered to the European passengers traveling between Europe and Galle Port in the 19th century.
Unawatuna Beach
Unawatuna Beach is located just south of Galle, the main city in the south, and 125 km from Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. This 4 km expanse of palm-fringed sand is said by some to rank among the twelve best beaches in the world. This beach is a paradise for all those who yearn to enjoy the silence of the sea and dive deep into the blue waters of the ocean. There is a reef protecting the beach, which makes it perfectly a safe haven for bathing. Other major attractions of this southern beach include shallow waters for swimming and diving. Within its reach, there is an accessible, reasonably well-preserved coral reef that serves as the base for snorkeling.
Hikkaduwa
Hikkaduwa is one of the most popular tourist destinations in southern Sri Lanka. It is 98 km south of Colombo, and its beautiful beaches add a lot of glamour to this town. It is the place where you can have a glimpse of the fascinating underwater world and see the creatures that inhabit the unfathomable depths of the sea. The famed coral gardens are located here. Just get hold of a glass-bottomed boat or goggles and flippers and plunge into the ocean.
End of the tour
